German state premier calls for reform of EU-Türkiye Customs Union

The premier of Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia state, Hendrik Wust, called Tuesday for reform of the EU-Türkiye Customs Union and improvements to visa procedures, citing the state’s close economic and social ties with Türkiye.

“No region is as closely connected to Türkiye socially and economically as North Rhine-Westphalia,” Wust wrote on US social media company X during a visit to Türkiye. “This close connection is a strength that we nurture.”

“To do that, we also need reform of the EU-Türkiye Customs Union and must improve visa procedures. I will continue to work toward this,” he added.

Wust met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on the first day of his visit. He said their roughly 50-minute meeting focused mainly on economic cooperation and relations between Türkiye and North Rhine-Westphalia, and that he raised the modernization of the Customs Union.

About one-third of Germany’s Turkish population lives in North Rhine-Westphalia.